Coordinating for Impact: Ideas to Advance DFC’s Interagency Engagement

The ability of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to fulfill its promise of becoming a full-fledged, impact-focused development finance institution depends in part on how it leverages the expertise and resources of other US government development agencies. In the US federal government, however, interagency coordination can be a tough sell. This paper explores the ways in which DFC can successfully coordinate with other agencies both in Washington and in the field to realize the new agency’s development mandate. It briefly analyzes DFC’s chief coordination structures and tools, noting areas where agencies might establish staffing and communications linkages to promote effective coordination. It also identifies opportunities for functional collaboration at the transaction level, including in identifying and bringing viable DFC projects to close and monitoring their development impact. Finally, this paper highlights how other agencies might adjust some of their own programming to complement DFC’s work. From this analysis, the authors propose a set of targeted recommendations aimed at making the DFC’s coordination efforts more successful.